ODOT 'roughing up' freeway ramps

posted by WTVN Newsroom
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3 years ago

"Just sort of created some grooves or roughness, if you will, which in essence is more traction which gives your wheels something to grip onto as you're going around that curved ramp," said ODOT spokesperson Nancy Burton.

Over time the pavement on the heavily traveled ramps has been smoothed down by tires. It's not usually a big issue until it rains.

"There were a number of crashes, especially when the pavement was wet," she said.

A total of 25 entrance and exit ramps all over Franklin County have been milled over the last two months. ODOT crews did all the work, so Burton says it didn't really cost the state any more money since it was already paying the workers to be on the clock. Most of the ramps are on I-270.

Burton says the work caught a few people by surprise and prompted some phone calls to ODOT.

It's not the first time they've used the method. ODOT crews milled the pavement on SR 315 at the "hospital curve" near Riverside Methodist Hospital a few years ago. It reduced the number of crashes.